Clewgarnet

I'm possibly overly paranoid, but I would never plug my phone into a public USB port. (Well, unless I had a power-only cable or a data condom, but whenever I buy one of those, I lose it within a week.) I'll stick to my plug-in adaptor, with a cable long enough to stretch across the cabin if necessary!

I think you're the only Panthers fan I've encountered! Even when my beloved Jags was playing for them, I couldn't make myself root for them.

The front looks like something from a 1980s sci-fi show.

A friend saw one of the Virgin ships in person, and described it as, "I'm surprised it hasn't sunk out of sheer embarrassment."

You'd have hated a captain I used to crew for - it was the pointy end and the blunt end! Below deck was downstairs, while up the masts was upstairs.

And for added confusion, mine (UK, issued in the 2010s) is eight characters - two letters, five numbers, one letter.

Even the made-to-order stuff isn't as good as I make at home! I've tried it a couple of times, including back when they still had the Godiva cafe, and it wasn't for me. My next cruise is the Med in August, so I can't imagine I'll be missing my hot chocolate then.

I'm thoroughly enjoying your reports, Miss G!

Unless the hot chocolate has changed since I was last on in October, I found it rather disappointing. Then again, I have a Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser at home, so I'm completely spoiled!

I called it the Great Glass Elevator! My favourite way of getting to the Commodore Club.

Website is https://www.intercruises.com/cruiseconnect/index.php/home

Whereabouts in London are you trying to get to? Intercruises are giving me the option for a coach from the ship to Victoria Coach Station for your disembarkation date. (Confusingly, it is listed as Victoria coach st on the dropdown list, rather than London.)

Oh, wow, I've just looked at the deck plans. That really is a terrible layout for those of us travelling pauper class. I'm not surprised people are using the Grills terrace as a cut-through. How clearly is it labelled as the Grills terrace? (Although that said, I ended up lounging on the Grills terrace on my first voyage, because I had no idea what the Grills were. I just thought it was the name of the area. Could have been labelled with a flashing neon sign and it wouldn't have meant anything to me.)

I once had the fun of going through US Immigration with a recently broken finger. I'd only taken the splint off the day before I boarded QM2, and the finger still didn't sit straight. (Still doesn't, many years later!) Immigration bloke didn't listen to my explanations of why I was struggling to get my fingerprints to scan - just reached across and physically slammed my hand straight. At which point I screamed in pain. Turns out that, at the point they've physically assaulted you, they stop fussing about non-blurry fingerprints and just get you out of Immigration and into the country as quickly as possible. (Well, they do if you're the sort of small, white, unthreatening person who's arrived on a Cunard liner. Probably not for many other people.)

I'm really enjoying your review, Jack. Thank you so much for posting it.

Please share your solution! If I'm on board before you, I can test run it, and let you know if it'll work!

I can definitely see the advantages but, as somebody who likes to take tiny portions of eighty-bazillion different things, I'm not a huge fan. If I wanted to make decisions, I wouldn't be at a buffet!

From a quick glance at the records, my great-grandfather (in my profile pic, in the galley of the original Caronia) sailed with him a few times, although my ggf had semi-retired by the time Fasting made it to the Queens.

I definitely recommend flying into/out of Southampton if you can. It's small enough that it never really develops any significant delays, and has all the essentials. Unfortunately, there are no flights from anywhere near me, so I'm left with the train or the coach, each of which is its own special variety of hell. Nothing quite kills the cruise happiness like being dumped at a grotty motorway service station, or being rammed into a train vestibule with people standing on your toes.

I'd disagree. (And I say that as somebody who will be losing my Lufthansa Senator status this year, because an injury led to me having to cancel a handful of planned flights.) It's pretty common for loyalty status to age out if it isn't used. Maybe something whereby it doesn't take as much to 'reactivate' a status, rather than achieving it from scratch?

The levels are either/or, whichever is soonest. For the pin, I went to the concierge desk on my third voyage and asked for it. They may have been mailed out in the past, but not any more. (Yes, I love pins, too!)

I'm also on the late July Med cruise (well, the second half of it), so interested to know what she's like in the sun. Hope you have a wonderful time, Myles.

Do you know if there are limited numbers of the 7-day passes? I'll be on board QA for a sea day on my birthday, so had booked a 2-hour pass for that day, for some much-needed lazing around doing nothing. If I can get 7 days for less than three times the price, that's far more appealing.

Last time I was in there, they still had a few steamer trunks in the old baggage room. Hopefully they were props left over from the tours, and not very delayed luggage! I visit occasionally for work, and have once or twice been lucky enough to be meeting someone who's happy to show me round. It's a beautiful building, with plenty of the old glamour hanging around. The old waiting area on the top floor (first class only, naturally) has some stunning views.

I think it was November 22 that I did the bus excursion, too, but we were less fortunate than you. Even driving all the way to Sweden, we didn't get to see the Lights. I didn't find it particularly cold, but I'm a northerner and we're well known for scoffing at coats. There were facilities on the bus. We didn't get hot chocolate but we did get a nice fruity drink, almost like a non-alcoholic mulled wine, and a chocolate biscuit. Because ours was the Cunard excursion, there were no issues with getting back on board. I'm another who wouldn't bother with the Cunard bus again. Then again, by this stage, I've accepted that I'm just never going to see the Northern Lights, because I keep sleeping through the blooming things! (But I did see the Southern Lights while sailing a brig from Tasmania, so that was nice.)